Review of War Witch (2012) by Walter M — 08 Mar 2013

At the age of 12, Komona's(Rachel Mwanza) village is raided by rebels. She is kidnapped along with many other youths, and forced to kill her parents(Starlette Mathata & Alex Herabo). Afterward she is trained to be a soldier on the fly with no shortage on brutality except for the occasional sign of kindness like Magician(Serge Kanyinda) sharing cookies with her. When marching one day, she encounters ghosts who warn her of an impending government ambush which ends up saving her life. As word is spread of her extranormal ability, she is summoned to the camp of Great Tiger(Mizinga Mwinga), the rebel leader.

"War Witch" is an unpredictable movie about the continually urgent issue of child soldiers in Africa, as two sides fight over the limited resources of an impoverished country. Overall, the movie's approach is more ethereal than visceral, yet no less effective.(Any strangeness can be ascribed to this being a Canadian production.) At one point in the narration, Komona says about an unrelated horrific crime that if she told us(and more precisely her unborn child) what really happened, we would stop listening which is not necessarily true. On the other hand, we can imagine the worst easily enough. At the same time, the movie dips heavily into magic realism, as I think Konoma can really see ghosts which also represent the guilt and pain which she would not otherwise be able to process.